Ex vivo study of the vasorelaxant activity induced by cannabigerol in human pulmonary artery- the role of endothelium, sex and selected clinical factors

Cannabigerol (CBG) is a non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid with an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Because CBG has a promising pharmacological profile involving activation of α 2 adrenergic and peroxisome proliferator-activated γ (PPARγ) receptors it may have relevance in the pharmacotherapy of cardiovascular diseases. Cannabigerol was also effective in lowering blood pressure in normotensive mice. In addition, it has been shown that cannabinoids can exhibit vasorelaxant effects in various vascular beds, and another plant cannabinoid-cannabidiol-has been shown to be effective in attenuating the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. In view of these reports, the aims of our study were to investigate whether CBG, exhibits a vasorelaxant effect on human pulmonary arteries (hPAs), to determine the mechanisms of CBG’s potentiating effects and to assess the influence the selected clinical factors and patients’ comorbidities on the vascular response induced by CBG. Our study reports that CBG relaxes hPAs, and post-hoc analysis has shown that this response can be modified by hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. We showed that the vasorelaxant effect of CBG depends on the vascular endothelium and the following mechanisms are involved: 1) cyclooxygenase-dependent pathway, 2) nitric oxide-dependent pathway, 3) voltage- and calcium-dependent K + channels and 4) probably cannabinoid type 1 and 2, PPARγ, G-protein-coupled 55 and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptors. At all, CBG appears to be a possible vasorelaxant agent, but its therapeutic efficacy may vary based on the patient’s condition and comorbidities. CBG’s mild vasorelaxant property may provide an added benefit in addition to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in hemp preparations.